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US Army Special Operations soldiers reportedly injured in explosion at Fort Bragg

An accidental explosion during a training exercise at Fort Bragg,
North Carolina, on Thursday morning left seven members of US Army
Special Operations Command injured and one dead.

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US Army Special Operations Command said in a statement that
eight personnel were injured in "a demolitions training incident
involving students and cadre at the John F. Kennedy Special
Warfare Center and School" on a range at Fort Bragg.

The explosion reportedly occurred during a homemade-explosive
familiarization exercise, according to
Sofrep.

Initial reports suggested four soldiers had been killed in
the incident, but Army officials said later on
Thursday that only soldier, Staff Sgt. Alexander Dalida, had
died.

Dalida was a student in the Special Forces Engineer Course, the
military occupational-specialty phase of the Special Forces
Qualification Course, according to local
ABC affiliate WTVD.

Authorities said earlier on Thursday that the injured soldiers
were transported to several hospitals, including the base's
Womack Army Medical Center, after an explosion on one of the
training fields at the base, according to WRAL.

"There was an incident that occurred on one of the ranges,"
Special Operations Command spokesman Lt. Col. Rob Bockholt
told the Associated
Press. "We're looking into exactly what happened."

"There are injuries but we don't know the extent," Bockholt
told Fox News.

The incident comes a day after an amphibious assault vehicle
carrying 15 Marines burst into flames
during a Combat Readiness Evaluation exercise at Camp Pendleton
in California. All of the Marines were able to escape the vehicle
and were taken to hospitals for treatment. Five were listed in
critical condition and another five were listed as serious.

Fort Bragg is home to about 57,000 active-duty personnel, making
it the largest Army base in the
world by population. The base is also home to Army Airborne and
Special Operations Forces, the latter of which has about 23,000
troops stationed at several sites there.